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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462119">Dancing in the Dark</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonnie_The_Individualist/pseuds/Nonnie_The_Individualist'>Nonnie_The_Individualist</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alex is a flirt, Facial Shaving, M/M, michael is a clown</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:00:44</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,364</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28462119</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nonnie_The_Individualist/pseuds/Nonnie_The_Individualist</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Michael has an accident shaving before a big event. Alex steps in to help.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michael Guerin/Alex Manes</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>67</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dancing in the Dark</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So, about 84 years ago, there was <a href="https://lovecolibri.tumblr.com/post/626544101391843328/bonus-points-if-its-actually-before-they-get">this post</a> on Tumblr that I commented on and I suddenly decided that despite the fact that I have never posted any fic at all before and I already had 2 fics that I was just beginning to attempt, that I needed to write this too. This is the first part (the second of course being the actual event including some dancing) and I really hope you all enjoy some sweet Malex, with a flirty Alex and an obstinately oblivious Michael. A gentle reminder, Michael is a bit of an unreliable narrator and has some…ideas about holding himself to an impossible standard of being “ready” before he can pursue Alex, and that means some disparaging thoughts about himself and incorrect assumptions about “paying” for his mistakes. Never fear though, Alex has some ideas of his own regarding that subject which we will be seeing in chapter two.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit” Michael murmurs under his breath, using his powers to help hold the steering wheel while he shifts gears as his bandana-wrapped left hand is currently busy being pressed to his neck. He’s already late and his face is a mess, he can’t ALSO get blood on the collar of his only dress shirt.</p><p>He comes flying up the road near enough to his destination to not feel guilty about ignoring the incessant sound of his phone blaring some emo song from high school that he uses especially for Alex.</p><p>The phone shuts off and immediately starts ringing again just as he pulls into Alex’s driveway. He leaves it on the seat, throwing the truck into park and hopping out with a shout of “I’m here, I’m here!” as he runs up to the door, knocking with his right hand while his left dutifully holds in place against the underside of his jaw.</p><p>Alex swings the door open with an exasperated look which quickly turns to one of amused confusion, one single, elegant brow raised while those soulful eyes flit over Michael’s disheveled appearance. They move from his partially-shaved face to his definitely-open-past-the-point-of-propriety dress shirt to his lack of an undershirt and tie, finally stopping to stare pointedly at the hand clutching his neck like a damsel in an old vampire movie.</p><p>“I’m so sorry I’m late, Alex!” He blurts out, trying hard NOT to stare back at Alex who is, of course, impeccably dressed in solid black. Though, in deference to the equipment they still have to move, his vest and dress shirt are open exposing his tight, black undershirt, and his sleeves are rolled up to his forearms with his tie slung open around his neck. He looks positively mouthwatering.</p><p>“It’s fine, Michael, I was just getting a little worried. You’re always very punctual when it comes to Isobel and I was afraid something happened. It looks like I was right.” He comments with a nod to the bandana.</p><p>Michael feels his face heat a bit in shame. He hates asking for help, but he would do anything to avoid risking Isobel’s wrath and more importantly, to avoid letting Isobel down after promising he would help out at her fancy gala.</p><p>“Yeah, I, um….my razor doesn’t get a lot of use?” He says, tilting the words up so it sounds like a question. “And it’s kind of old and I was in a hurry and…I don’t know how it happened but,” he shrugs and gingerly pulls his hand away. Alex leans forward with a hiss of sympathetic pain and reaches out to brush the thin skin of his neck near the cut. Which promptly disrupts the barely formed clot of blood over the wound and sends a small rivulet of red running down Michael’s neck towards his pristine white dress shirt.</p><p>“<em>Christ</em>, Guerin! What did you use, a butcher knife?!” Alex exclaims in alarm, clamping the hand, and therefore the bandana, back to Michael’s neck. “Come inside and let me take a look.”</p><p>“We’re going to be late. I’ll just keep the bandana over it until it stops bleeding.”</p><p>Alex gives him a <em>look</em> at that and silently turns around and heads back into the house leaving Michael to follow. Michael makes his way through the house he has gradually come to know better while he and Alex have been working on some alien-related projects. He hears a quiet voice as he nears the bathroom and realizes Alex has called Isobel. He feels the blood drain from his face (maybe <em>that</em> will stop the bleeding? He can only hope, then this nightmare will be over.) and he can just imagine Isobel and Alex having a nice laugh at his clumsy ass slicing his neck open. It’s not his fault good razors are ridiculously expensive and he never had anyone to show him how to shave his neck properly.</p><p>As he nears the bathroom Alex’s voice becomes clear and it stops him in his tracks.</p><p>“No, Isobel, it’s not his fault. He got here right on time to help me load up the equipment but I wasn’t ready. I was having trouble getting around this morning and wasn’t able to dismount the speakers from their towers or crawl behind the keyboard to get it unplugged. Michael’s working on it right now, we’ll be 15 minutes late, tops.”</p><p>Michael looks down the hall back to the front door just to make sure and yep! Sitting by the door ready to be loaded into Michael’s truck are the two speakers, their towers, and the keyboard in its case with the stand folded next to it, along with a computer bag and another small duffle bag that was likely full of cords. At the sight of everything ready to go, Michael feels his heart swell. Alex just lied. To <em>Isobel</em>. For <em>him</em>.</p><p>Alex steps out of the bathroom and nearly runs right into Michael’s chest and some of what Michael is thinking must be visible on his face as Alex’s softens and he gives Michael a small smile and a shrug.</p><p>“Alex-“</p><p>“Don’t worry about it. Isobel likes me more than you,” he says with a wink “And consequently, is nicer to me about being late.”</p><p>Michael rolls his eyes but allows Alex to pull him into the bathroom and sit him down on the lid of the toilet like he’s a child.</p><p>Alex goes to pull the hand with the bandana away from Michael’s neck but stops, seeming to think better of it and instead reaches down and starts unbuttoning the rest of Michael’s shirt. He must notice the way Michael freezes under his hands because he stops and looks up, meeting Michael’s eyes.</p><p>“I figured we should get this out of the way so we don’t have to worry about getting blood on it. Is-is that okay?”</p><p>Michael nods mutely, not trusting his voice at the moment. Knowing his luck with how today is going, it would just come out breathless and upset their current delicate balance. He and Alex have been building a solid friendship and he isn’t ready to risk that. Not now, when he’s still such a disaster. He couldn’t bear it if he had to listen to Alex try and let him down easy.</p><p>Alex finishes with the buttons and helps Michael pull his right arm out of the sleeve then pauses as he tries to decide how to handle the left sleeve. Finally, he takes a deep breath and looks at Michael, a small furrow in his brow.</p><p>“Can I-” He pauses to swallow then starts again. “Can I take this off?” His fingers gently brush the edges of the bandana and Michael feels like he can’t breathe. He slowly nods then closes his eyes as he feels Alex’s featherlight touches pulling the knot loose.</p><p>Finally, Alex has totally unwrapped his hand and is holding the bandana to the still stubbornly (though sluggishly) bleeding cut. Michael lets out a shuddering breath and lowers his hand, sliding his left arm out of its sleeve.</p><p>“Here,” Alex says reaching his left hand under his right arm, which is still valiantly trying to keep Michael’s blood on the inside, in order to take the dress shirt, then spins to hang it up on the hooks decorating the back of the door. He then gently presses Michael’s left hand back up to take over holding the bandana while he shrugs out of his tie, vest, and shirt as well, hanging them on the hook next to Michael’s. Michael finds he can’t stop staring at their clothes, hanging side-by-side like they belong together. It’s beautiful and he feels his throat get a little tight at the longing it brings.</p><p>“Okay now, let’s take a look,” Alex says with a straight face as he turns back which only falters slightly with Michael’s soft snort at the near inuendo. He gives Michael a “get your mind out of the gutter” look before he takes the bandana away, tossing over to the counter with one hand while trying to tilt Michael’s jaw more into the light with the other.</p><p>“What’s the prognosis, Doc?” Michael asks, mostly just for something to say. With Alex looking at him so intently the silence feels charged and it’s making Michael fidgety.</p><p>“Well, the good news is, you probably won’t need stitches or a blood transfusion!” Alex replies with falsely bright cheer.</p><p>Michael rolls his eyes and is about to make a snarky comment back but as he takes a breath in to speak, Alex finishes his assessment and turns to his open first-aid kit on the counter with a “Don’t move” spoken in what Michael lovingly thinks of as his Commanding Officer Voice. He shuts his mouth with a snap and holds as still as possible while Alex makes his selections from the kit.</p><p>“Okay, this is going to sting a little bit,” Alex says while dousing a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, just get it over wi-<em>Jesus</em>!” The rubbing alcohol is cold and it <em>stings</em>.</p><p>“Sorry! Sorry,” Alex says with a wince and a quiet hiss. “But that bandana was…not the most sanitary thing. This needs to be cleaned out.”</p><p>“That bad, huh?” Michael inquires trying to keep still through the pain.</p><p>“No, but if you were human, I’d definitely recommend a tetanus shot. Stop squirming!” Alex admonishes. Michael tries, he really does, but finally with a long-suffering sigh Alex just steps wide with his good leg so it’s on the outside of Michael’s knee, then gently nudges that knee in, until Michael’s legs are pressed together between Alex’s thighs, holding him still. He feels pinned, but not in an insect-under-glass kind of way, more in a swaddled-for-his-own-comfort-and-safety kind of way. His squirming stops and Alex flashes him a bright smile and finishes cleaning the area around the wound and patting it dry with another cotton ball before dropping them both in the trash can next to his feet.</p><p>“There! I think the bleeding has stopped.”</p><p>Michael blows a breath out and moves to stand up, only to have Alex’s hands land heavily on his shoulders pressing him back down.</p><p>“Where do you think you’re going?”</p><p>“….to get re-dressed?” He asks slowly, confused about what is happening. “Before we’re any later and Iz throttles both of us?”</p><p>“If you show up half-shaved, she’s going to throttle you anyways. Now, sit still.”</p><p>Michael is still confused about what’s happening as Alex steps away and starts rifling through the medicine cabinet, then sees Alex set two items down on the counter-shaving cream, and a razor.</p><p>“Ummm, thanks, but after my first attempt went so poorly, I think Isobel would prefer me half-shaved to me missing half of my face,” Michael comments with a self-deprecating laugh, trying not to fidget in nervous embarrassment. It’s <em>Alex</em>, and they’re friends now. Alex even covered for him with Isobel! There is no reason to be embarrassed. At least that’s what he tells himself. It doesn’t stop the hot sweep of shame at looking anything less than competent in front of Alex, or at giving Alex yet another glimpse into what a mess he really is.</p><p>Alex just rolls his eyes and turns to grab a couple towels off the rack and proceeds to physically move Michael around so he is sitting sideways on the toilet with the full-sized towel draped across his chest, ends hanging over his shoulders. Alex tilts him until his upper back is braced on the side of the counter and his head is tilted back and resting on the countertop, pillowed by the other, slightly smaller towel.</p><p>“Wha-What are you doing?”</p><p>“What does it look like I’m doing, Michael?” Alex askes with a smirk and a raised brow. “I’m going to give you a shave. Now, hold. Still.”</p><p>Michael feels his eyes widen and his mouth goes completely dry. He feels hot all over, and <em>oh</em>! This was not supposed to happen! They were friends now, but that final command, spoken with all the weight and authority of an Air Force Captain has his blood rushing through his veins. Directly to places it should NOT go when thinking about people who are <em>just friends</em>.</p><p>“Relax, Michael,” Alex says, gently brushing one of Michael’s curls off his forehead with a fond smile. Michael tries to unclench his jaw and relax his facial muscles like the yoga videos Isobel has started requiring him to do with her are always yammering on about. He’s just thankful Alex is standing at his shoulder and facing him so he’s (hopefully) missed the bodily reaction Michael’s had to that tone of voice.</p><p>“I’m not going to let you get cut again. Promise,” Alex says, misunderstanding the tension Michael is struggling with, but the earnest look on Alex’s face and a second brush through Michael’s hair helps settle him. Michael nods then closes his eyes as Alex gets to work.</p><p>It goes well at first, the warm washcloth Alex uses to soften his hair and skin is pleasant and Michael is sure Alex takes a little more time than necessary gently wiping his face but then Alex gets the shaving gel and his hands are touching Michael’s face, working the gel into a thick, creamy lather and he is right back where he started. He tries to keep his breathing relaxed but Alex’s left thigh is pressed against his side and when he leans over Michael a little more to get the right underside of his jaw Michael’s nose comes perilously close to brushing Alex’s navel.</p><p>“There!” Alex exclaims, a littler higher pitched than normal, when he finishes covering Michael’s face with the shaving cream, steering clear of the injured, previously shaved area. Michael startles a bit at the sudden noise and his eyes fly open, meeting Alex’s slightly sheepish gaze. Michael swears he sees a hint of a blush before Alex turns away to rinse his hands in the sink and wet the razor.</p><p>He pauses for a moment, razor dripping in his hand, head cocked slightly to the side as he looks Michael over, clearly pondering how to best approach the actual shaving part.</p><p>“Can I-” Alex reaches out towards Michael’s arms, which are clasped across his middle, as though he wants to move them. Michael nods and Alex sets the razor down and separates Michael’s hands, raising his arms up and out a bit. Michael almost chokes on his own tongue when Alex interlaces their fingers in order to brace himself and uses the space he’s made around Michael’s torso to step <em>over</em> him with his good leg, straddling Michael’s ribs so he can stand over him straight on. It will eliminate some of the awkward angles Alex would have had to deal with if he’d stayed standing to the side, but it might also eliminate Michael’s ability to ever have another coherent thought in his head.</p><p>“Is this okay?” Alex asks, voice lower and huskier than before. Michael tries to ignore that fact, but that only turns his attention to the fact that their hands are still linked. He is about to say something (probably inappropriate) when Alex pulls their hands down and wraps Michael’s around to hold the backs of his thighs just above his knees. Ostensibly to keep him steady in his position above Michael while he leans his upper body around, but Michael can feel the heat of Alex through his dress slacks and he suddenly can’t breathe.</p><p>“How about now?” Alex asks a little breathlessly and it takes everything in him for Michael to nod and swallow the whine he feels trying to rise in his throat. Alex just nods back and reaches forward to grab the razor off the edge of the sink. His shirt nearly brushes Michael’s nose and Michael can’t help it. He breathes in, just enough to fill his nostrils (and his brain) with the scent of bergamot and citrus mixed with crisp oceanic notes and something else uniquely <em>Alex</em>.</p><p>Then there is the first rasp of the razor over Michael’s skin and Alex is carefully holding him still and it’s all just too much. Michael closes his eyes again, trying to scrub the image from his mind of Alex with his face scrunched in concentration and lower lip between his teeth before it causes a problem. Again.</p><p>At first, each move is indicated with soft murmurs, a quiet “tilt up,” here or an “it’s okay, I’ve got you,” there, but gradually they fall silent, no longer needing the words but falling in tune with each other’s bodies. They have always been shit with words, at reading between the spoken lines, or behind the barbs to the hurt underneath, both so damaged and thinking so lowly of themselves that they often entirely missed what the other was trying to say. But this? They are good at this. Good at feeling a touch, or shift of muscles, and knowing exactly what is needed in response.</p><p>Slowly they fall into rhythm. Michael breathes in time with Alex, allowing his head and face to be held, moved, and manipulated however Alex needs. His hands though, those stay steady and strong, keeping Alex centered and stable when he has to lean more on his bad side to get a certain angle. Alex for his part settles into Michael’s hold, trusting him more and more with his weight, knowing Michael won’t let him fall.</p><p>As Michael follows his every unspoken command, Alex’s breaths become deeper and consequently, Michael’s do as well, the silence becoming more charged the longer Alex works.</p><p>Suddenly, Michael can’t keep his eyes closed for another second. He has to see. He has to watch and sear the moment into his mind before it ends and he never gets to have this again. He slowly opens his eyes, blinking in the harsh bathroom light before he focuses on Alex’s torso, so close to his face, his mouth. He could probably shift enough that he could stick out his tongue and-he cuts off that line of thought, but when he looks up it’s to find Alex’s eyes are half-lidded and locked onto his, looking into his very soul with so much heat, and longing, and Michael <em>aches</em>.</p><p>His heart squeezes in his chest at the look on Alex’s face and he realizes his thumbs are, and have been, rubbing circles into Alex’s thighs. He feels the whine he swallowed down earlier start to rise again. He is trying to be good and hold still, he <em>really</em> doesn’t want to get cut again, but now his hips have started to subtly shift between Alex’s legs and he doesn’t know how to make himself stop.</p><p>Slowly, Alex reaches forward, never taking his eyes off Michael’s, and sets the razor back on the counter. The air is charged and they are both breathing hard, waiting to see who is going to make the first move. Alex is already basically in Michael’s lap, all it would take is a gentle pull for him to sit down and-</p><p>
  <em>BRRRIIING</em>
</p><p>“<em>Fucking</em> hell!” Alex swears, and Michael startles at the sound. Alex lands hard in his lap and both of them let out a hiss at the contact. Alex pulls himself back up and reaches for the phone he left sitting on the counter.</p><p>“Yes?” He says, a little testily when he answers, and Michael feels a smirk on his face, even as he tries to regain his composure.</p><p>“It’s been twenty minutes, where in the hell are you two?!” Michael hears Isobel snap and that wipes the smirk off his face and helps pull him together. What in the hell had he been thinking? He couldn’t let some dumb move like getting carried away while Alex was just trying to be nice and help him out ruin what they have. Which is a <em>friendship</em> and nothing more. And it’s fine. Michael knows he screwed up, he knows he has to be better and more put together before he can think about trying again with Alex (not that he ever really STOPS thinking about it, but thinking about it and DOING something about it are different things). He knows he has to make up for how he treated Alex last year and if that means being just friends, well, this friendship is <em>good</em>. It’s solid. They have coffee together at Bean Me Up regularly, lunch at The Crashdown at least once a week, and while this will be their first dinner event that isn’t just at Isobel or Max’s house, Alex <em>has</em> been hinting about trying out one of the steak joints in town. Michael can’t risk messing this up now, when he and Alex are finally getting to spend time together.</p><p>“We’re on our way, Isobel, just got a little…wrapped up,” Alex replies looking at Michael with some lingering heat before tilting his head to hold the phone against his shoulder while guiding Michael back to his original position against the counter. “We’ll be there in less than ten minutes, I promise,” Alex says while making the last couple passes with the razor before stepping back over Michael’s chest and gesturing to the sink for him to wash up while he turns to grab his shirt from the hook behind the door.</p><p>Michael splashes his face and neck off, using the towel to dry off his face, careful not to disturb the flap of skin over the cut on his neck which still has a tiny bit of blood seeping out. Alex is murmuring placating sounds and pulling his shirt back on while Isobel stress-rambles into his ear, but as he switches the phone from one ear to the other so he can pull on his other sleeve, he whispers to Michael to sit back down.</p><p>“Iz, it’s going to be fine, we are on our way, and it won’t take more than a few minutes to get everything set up, but I have to go if we’re going to get there, oaky?”</p><p>While Alex finishes calming Isobel down, he pulls another bottle out of the medicine cabinet and one last cotton ball. He hangs up the phone and turns back to Michael with an appraising look.</p><p>“Not too bad, if I do say so myself!” He says, which would have been fine if he didn’t also reach out to run the back of his fingers across Michael’s now-smooth cheek before dabbing the cotton ball over the cut one last time to make sure the area is dry. He grabs the little bottle on the counter which is when Michael gets a good look at the label.</p><p>“Skin glue, huh?” He asks. “Are you <em>sure </em>Isobel didn’t put you up to this? She threated me yesterday with gluing my mouth shut if I didn’t agree to be polite to the guests.” Alex just fixes him with a look that says he’d better not move or try to fight this. He holds up his hands in surrender and lets Alex tilt his head one last time, trying to stave off the sadness he feels knowing he won’t get to have Alex’s hands on him anymore. After applying the skin glue, Alex leans forward and blows gently to make sure the glue is dry, and Michael barely contains a gasp.</p><p>“Done,” Alex says softly as he leans away. “And the glue means no band-aid, so Isobel won’t even know,” He finishes, blessedly turning to leave the room and giving Michael a moment to catch his breath.</p><p>Once Alex is gone, Michael leans forward, bracing his arms on his knees and tries to fight down his feelings so they can get a move on before the whole endeavor was for naught and Isobel murders the both of them anyways. It’s her first big event after Noah and her nerves are showing.</p><p>He looks up just in time to get a face full of fabric as Alex lobs something at his head. He sputters, but delights at hearing Alex’s soft laugh. He grabs the bundle from where it fell into his lap and unfolds a white sleeveless undershirt that even from here, smells like Alex.</p><p>He looks up to say thanks but stops when he sees Alex looking down at something he’s holding and it takes just a moment for Michael to realize it’s a clean, new, black bandana, folded into a strip.</p><p>“I…” Alex clears this throat. “I figured it would be better to have a clean one,” he finishes, still looking down at his hands.</p><p>“Thank you,” Michael says softly, and Alex looks up at that with a small smile. He hands him the bandana then turns back out of the room.</p><p>“I’m going to let you get dressed. I’ll be out front loading up the truck, just lock the front door behind you,” he tosses over his shoulder, and then Michael is alone.</p><p>He knows they are running late so he takes just a moment to close his eyes and breathe. Then he pushes it all to the side and hops up, already pulling Alex’s shirt over his head as he reaches for his shirt on the back of the door. He turns toward the mirror checking that his hair is at least mildly presentable as he tugs on his dress shirt and then he is heading out to load the last of the stuff into the truck. He uses his powers to help steady the stack of objects and lighten the load so in less than 5 minutes, he and Alex are in the truck on the way to the outdoor venue and Michael is glad he grabbed some extra acetone this morning because he is once again using his powers to steady the truck while his left hand is occupied. Though this time, it’s with Alex wrapping the bandana around the formerly scarred appendage.</p><p>And if it takes all of his concentration to keep the car on the road and not focus on Alex’s hands gently brushing against his, so sensitive to touch now with the healed nerve endings, no one has to know.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Title from Dancing in the Dark by Ed Sheeran</p><p>Come scream at me on <a href="https://lovecolibri.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a> about all things Malex!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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